LEADERSHIP

OUR STAFF

Ellen Schneider has been a leader in social justice media strategies for over 20 years. In 2001, with support from MacArthur and Ford Foundations, she founded Active Voice, one of the first teams to leverage story-based media to put human faces on complex social and policy issues. Ellen was formerly the executive producer of P.O.V., PBS’ original series of independent non-fiction film, where she expanded P.O.V.’s parent company American Documentary into production, (Right Here, Right Now, a pilot for one of PBS’ first reality series) and strategic community engagement (High Impact Television® and the Television Race Initiative). She speaks widely about the role of media in public life, from Harvard’s Neiman Foundation to Cambridge University; from the Council on Foundations to Netroots Nation; from Sundance Film Festival to the National Endowment for the Arts. She has worked closely with media-savvy pioneers like Atlantic Philanthropies, MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Participant Media.

Maya Dalla Déa Worthy | Coordinator of Active Voice Lab

Born in Hollywood & raised in Burbank, California to an anthropologist mother and photographer father, Maya has always had a critical eye for cinema. Now based in Oakland, Maya graduated in May 2016 with a BFA in Cinema from San Francisco State University’s School of Cinema at the top of her class. She has produced several short films & spearheaded two successful campaigns for documentaries Finding the Gold Within by Karina Epperlein & Regarding Susan Sontag by Nancy Kates. Her blog series titled “Inclusive Hollywood” sheds light on the lack of diversity in the Hollywood mainstream, an issue she is committed to turn on its head.

Rebecca Hsu | Consultant, Active Voice Lab

Rebecca contributes to communications and has provided research and project management for a number of social change media-based projects at Active Voice Lab. She brings over 4 years of social sector experience to Active Voice Lab, including roles at the Lucile Packard Foundation and Philanthropedia (now GuideStar), and also works as a freelance media producer. Rebecca holds a B.A. in History from Stanford University.

OUR FUNDERS

OUR NETWORK OF EXPERTS

Our staff is small, but our network is diverse and robust. Our ecosystem-based, programmatic advisory groups are composed of leaders who care about the skillful use of story to advance social change. Informally assembled in 2009 to develop The Prenups, these advisors review our content, share the ups and downs of their practices, and help us determine what’s relevant and useful to their peers. In addition positive case studies, they also share detailed perspectives about what hasn’t worked and why. Our network includes:

How Do We Know/Philanthropy – Donors, program officers, and foundation communicators who are also probing the relationship between story and change, such as Julie Parker Benello and Rick Perez

How Do We Know/Creative – Socially engaged media makers and journalists, such as Jennifer Maytorena Taylor and Marco Williams

How Do We Know/Learn – Evaluators and social scientists who measure the impact of media, the impact of programs on social change, or, increasingly, both; such as Dr. Kien Lee and Jara Dean Coffey, MPH

How Do We Know/Advocacy – People on the front lines of social issues who use creative media to strengthen their efforts, such as Sam Gregory and Richard Gray